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Law / United States / Texas

S.B. 441 (2025), unlawful production or distribution of AI deep fake sexually explicit media

Tex. Penal Code § 21.165

A citation is an address, not a summary. The first part names the law; what follows narrows it to the exact section, article or paragraph.

In force since 1 September 2025.

An AI prohibited practices rule binding public and private bodies.

As of 6 September 2026.

What it requires

  • Do not knowingly produce or distribute by electronic means deep fake media that, without the depicted person's effective consent, appears to show them with computer-generated intimate parts or engaging in sexual conduct they did not engage in; doing so is a Class A misdemeanor, elevated to a third-degree felony if you have a prior conviction under this section or the person depicted is younger than 18.
  • Do not threaten to produce or distribute such deep fake media to coerce, extort, harass, or intimidate someone; doing so is a Class B misdemeanor, elevated to a Class A misdemeanor under the same two aggravators.
  • A disclaimer that the media is unauthorized or not authentic is not a defense.
  • A general-purpose AI application or software provider has an affirmative defense only if its terms prohibit creating this content and it takes active technical steps against it, such as training the system to identify such media, providing reporting tools, and filtering it from outputs and training data.

If you get it wrong

Criminal exposureYes

Criminal exposure note

Producing or distributing deep fake sexually explicit media without consent is a Class A misdemeanor, elevated to a felony of the third degree where the actor has a prior conviction under this section or the person depicted is younger than 18; threatening to produce or distribute such media is a Class B misdemeanor, elevated to a Class A misdemeanor under the same two aggravators.

What it reaches

Obligation class

Prohibition

What this law does

Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.

A person commits an offense by knowingly producing or distributing, by electronic means and without the depicted person's effective consent, deep fake media (visual material created or altered by software, machine learning, artificial intelligence, or other technological means) that appears to depict that person with computer-generated intimate parts or engaging in sexual conduct they did not engage in.

A separate offense covers intentionally threatening to produce or distribute such media to coerce, extort, harass, or intimidate.

The provision was originally enacted in 2023 and has since been amended, effective September 1, 2025; a general-purpose AI application or software provider has an affirmative defense if its terms prohibit this use and it takes active technical steps against it, such as training the system to identify prohibited content, providing reporting tools, and filtering it from outputs and training data. A disclaimer that the media is unauthorized or inauthentic is not a defense.

When LexLint raises it

  • generates_content
  • publishes_adult_content
  • operates_social_platform

Read the law

official codified text, Texas Constitution and Statutes, Texas Legislative Council

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